Container filling and closing machine



Sept. 20, 1960 T. E. PIAZZE CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE l3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 20, 1957 INVENTOR. 6. ",z

flz/zadw/ Sept. 20, 1960 T. E. PIAZZE CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE 13 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1957 i 7 BY Sept. 1950 T. E. PIAZZE 2,952,959

CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1957 15 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept. 20, 1960 T. E. PIAZZE 2,952,959

CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1957 Is Sheets-Sheet 4 m. Ma i J: 1;; 189 17 I IW T 2- 222 INVENTOR.

BY WMfM/rm Sept. 20, 1960 T. E. PIAZZE CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1957 13 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 20, 1960 'r. E. PIAZZE CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE l3 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 20, 1957 5 %IN V EN TOR. I s" I Z&

By f MzaAZ/m Sept. 20,1960

T. E. PIAZZE 2,952,959

CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1957 l3 Sheets-Sheet 7 ZIO INVENTOR.

T. E. PlAZZE 2,952,959

Sept. 20, 1960 CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE 13 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed May 20, 1957 INVENTOR.

T. E. PIAZZE CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Sept. 20, 1960 15 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed May 20, 1957 Sept. 20, 1960 T. E.

CONTAINER FILLING Filed May 20, 1957 PIAZZE 2,952,959

AND CLOSING MACHINE l3 Sheets-Sheet 10 E I I"; I I IN ENTOR.

BY 11 MMm/m Sept. 20, 1960 T. E. PIAZZE 2,952,959

CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed May 20 1957 13 Sheets-Sheet 11 JNVENTOR.

BY We; M

13 Sheets-Sheet 12 INZ/ENTOR. W

WMYWW T. E. PIAZZE CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Sept. 20, 1960 Filed May 20, 1957 Sept. 20, 1960 T. E. PIAZZE 2,952,959 I CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1957 13 Sheets-Sheet 13 IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent C) 2,952,959 CONTAINER FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Thomas E. Piazze, Mount Vernon, Ohio, assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 20, 1957, Ser. No. 660,299 1'3 Claims. (Cl. 53-266) This invention relates to packaging machines and is more particularly concerned with the improvements in a machine for receiving a container formed of pliable sheet material from a container forming machine, filling the container with a commodity, closing the top of the filled container and sealing the same.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a 'continuously operating machine having a pocketed conveyor for receiving open topped tube-like containers of pliable heat scalable material from a container making machine and for advancing the container beneath successive mechanisms positioned along the path of the conveyor for filling each container with a predetermined quantity of merchandise, for tucking the upstanding top portions of the end walls of the container while bringing the top portion of the side walls into juxtaposed relation to form a flat closure, and for heat sealing the closed top.

-It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a container filling and closing machine comprising a continuously operated conveyor having a series of removable pocket forming mandrels for receiving in upright open position flat bottom bags formed from heat scalable material, the conveyor being arranged to operate in a horizontal plane and to advance the bags successively beneath a device for filling each bag with merchandise, a top closing mechanism for tucking the end walls of the bag top to form a bellows fold therein and for bringing the side walls of the bag top into flattened face-to-face relation, a sealing, folding and pressing mechanism for heat sealing the flattened bag top, and for subsequently folding the sealed portion and further sealing the same, and mechanism for discharging the filled and closed bags from the machine.

It is another object of the invention to provide in a machine of the type described an improved folding and tucking mechanism for folding into closed relation the top portions of successive filled bags by placing in the end walls thereof bellows folds and bringing the side walls into contiguous flat folded relation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide in a machine of the type described an improved mechanism for sealing the tops of the successive filled bags after they have been closed by a folding and tucking mechanism wherein an initial cross seal is formed in the flattened bag top and subsequently the top is folded over onto itself and a final cross seal is placed therein.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a mechanism for receiving successive pairs of open bags from a supply line and for properly seating the bags in the pocket forming mandrels on the continuously operated conveyor of a bag filling and closing mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a container forming, filling and closing operation a method and means for transferring containers from an intermittently operating container fabricating machine in multiple sideby-side relation to upwardly opening container receiving Patented Sept. 20, 1960 2 pockets which are arranged in single file relation on the continuously traveling conveyor of a container filling and top closing and sealing machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of closing and heat sealing the tops of filled containers which are continuously advanced on a supporting conveyor by performing simultaneously the closing and heat sealing operations on the tops of a plurality of successive containers without interrupting the advancing movement of the supporting conveyor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a method of discharging containers from continuously moving receptacles on a conveyor which comprises temporarily removing the bottoms of the receptacles at a discharge station and allowing the containers to drop by gravity to a delivery conveyor.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the container filling and closing mechanism which is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a mechanism which embodies the principal features of the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan View of the mechanism with portions removed or broken away;

Figure 3 is a partial elevation of the side of the mechanism which is opposite the side shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an elevation, to an enlarged scale, of the filling end of the mechanism with the filling device omitted and with other portions broken away;

Figure 5 is a cross section taken on the line 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a partial cross section taken on the line @-6 of Figure 1, to an enlarged scale, showing in end elevation, the bag top tucking mechanism;

Figure 7 is a front side elevation, to a larger scale, of the bag top tucking mechanism shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a cross section taken on the line 38 of Figure 6 to an enlarged scale;

Figire 9 is a partial section taken on the line 99 of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary plan view taken on the line 1010 of Figure 1, to an enlarged scale;

Figure 11 is a front side elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is an end elevation in Figure 10;

Figure 13 is a cross section of Figure 11;

Figure 14 is a partial cross section taken on the line 1414 of Figure 1, to an enlarged scale, showing an end elevation of the bag top'sealing mechanism;

Figure 15 is a front elevation of the sealing mechanism shown in Figure 14, to a smaller scale and with portions broken away;

Figure 16 is a plan view of the sealing mechanism with portions broken away;

Figure 17 is a plan view similar to Figure 16 with other portions being broken away;

Figure 18 is a vertical section taken on the line 18-18 of Figure 14, with portions broken way;

Figure 19 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 19 -19 of Figure 18;

Figure 20 is a cross section taken on the line 20+20 of Figure 17 to an enlarged scale;

Figure 21 is a cross section taken on the line 2121 of Figure 17 to an enlarged scale;

Figure 22 is a cross section taken on the line 22-22 of Figure 17 to an enlarged scale;

Figure 23 is a plan view, to an enlarged scale, of a portion of the conveyor showing one of the bag supporting assemblies;

of the mechanism shown taken on the line 13-13 Figure, 24 is a cross section on the line 24-24 of V Figure 28 is a view similar to Figure 24 at the completion. f the tucking'and closing operation;

Figure 29 is a perspective view of the bag top as it appears after, the first cross sealing operation;

Figure 30 is a perspective view. of the. bag topv after the top fold is formed and the final cross seal is applied; and a Figure 31 is a perspective view of the bag top upon completion of the final' seal pressing operation.

Referring to. the drawings,'there is illustrated a machine for filling and closing a container of the square bottom type which is formed of heat scalable sheet or web material and which is delivered to the machine in squared up or opened condition; The machine is particularly adapted for use with a container fabricating machine of the type in which a series of forming mandrels are carried in double line arrangement 'on an conveyor and sheets of'relatively flexible container forming' material are folded over the ends of'the mandrels toform flat bottom containers having vertical side seams. After the material is folded over the mandrels}v and the seams are formed, the containers are removed from the mandrels' and delivered through a transfer mechanism to the machine in which'the present invention is embodied. A suitable machine for'fabricating' the containers is disclosed in my copending application, Serial No; 657,853, filed May 8,1957;

endless right supporting structure (Figures 1 to 4) with a top frame comprising side rails 11 and 12 and end rails 13 and 14 with transversely extending brace members which will be hereinafter referred to. The top frame is supported on base forming upright side plate members 15 and 16 at one end of the machine and 17 and 18 at the other end of the machine." The base members 15, 16

and 17, 18 are tied together near the bottom by pairs of transversely extending reinforcing plates 19 and 26, respectively. The pairs of plate members 15, 17 and 16, 18 at each side of the machine are tied together by longitudinally extending bottom side brace rails 21 A and 22, respectively.

i E, are mounted on a relatively short, vertically extending stub shaft 301which is journaled in vertically spaced horizontal top and bottom supporting plate members 31 and 32, which plate members are mounted in longitudinally extending relation with the bottom plate member 32 secured on the longitudinally spaced cross frame members 33 and 34'extending between the side rails 11 and 12, and with the top plate member 31 constituting a part of an upstanding subframe. The stub shaft I is an 'idler' shaft and its 'mounting structure including The machine illustrated in the drawings includes a V continuously driven endless conveyor supported on a frame structure for movement in'a horizontal plane and provided with a series of upwardly opening pocket forming mandrels in which the flat bottom containers or bags are adapted to be received from the container fabricating machine. A bag feeding mechanism is arranged at a station along the conveyor for delivering succeesive pairs of the bags in upwardly open relation into' the mandrel pockets on the endless conveyor. 'A suitable filling inech anism'is arranged at the end o'f'the' machine in advance of the bag feeding mechanism for feeding a iie'asured' the plates 31 and 32 is supported for adjustment longitudinally of the supporting frame structure 10 to maintain proper tension in the chains. The sprockets 28 at the other end of the conveyor adjacent the station B are supported on a vertically extending drive shaft 35 which is journaled in verticallyspaced horizontal top and botamount of 'a product into the open topof. each successive I 5 bag. "A bag top tucking mechanism is arranged ata succeeding station along the conveyorifor. forming bellows folds in the top margins of the end wallsof each bag and for bringing the side walls intoflat face-to-face relation. The folded or closed top of each bag is then cross sealed, the sealed top is folded upon itself and a final seal applied bya combination heat sealing andfold forming mechanism arranged at a succeeding station. The closed and sealed bag is then.

along the conveyor. moved by the conveyor to a dischargestation where the completed package is dropped through the bottom of the mandrel in which it is carried'to a discharge conveyor which delivers it from the'machine.

In describing the machine, the side thereof which is shown in Figure 1 will be referred to as; the front side of themachine while the opposite. side will be referred to as the rear side. The bag carrying conveyor travels from left to right along the back run thereof as shown in Figure .2 with the empty bags being delivered;to the machine at' a station indicatedat A adjaeent oneend of the rear side thereof. 1 The bagsare filled at the, end of.

tom suppporting plate members'36 and 37. The bottom plate member 37 extends longitudinally approximately half the length of'the supporting frame structure 10 and is mounted on longitudinally spaced cross frame bars 38 and- 39 which. extend between the top frame side members 11 and 12. The top support plate 36 constitutes the top memberof an upstanding subframe mounted on the outerend of the plate 37. l

The vertical drive shaft 35 (Figure 4) dependsffrom the bottom support plate 37 to a gear box 40 which is mounted on a, vertical cross plate 41' extending between the side frame'members 17 and 18 at the filling end of the machine. The shaft 35 carries a bevel gear 42 on 7 its lower'end which is in engagement with a cooperating bevel-gear 43, on a relatively short driven cross shaft 44 the sprocket 47 on the cross shaft 48. The cross shaft 48 extends between upper portions of the side frame members 17 and 18 and forms a combination cam and drive shaft controlling theoperation of certain. of the the machine indicated as station B. The bag top fol ding and tucking mechanismis at station C- The heat; sealing V mechanism is at station D and the completed. packages are. delivered to p the discharge; conveyor. at, station. E

Theimachine comprises a generally-rectangular.upg

mechanism. hereinafter referred to.

-'The conveyor chains 26 and 27 are held in vertically spaced relation by pairs of brackets 49 which extend in spaced relation along the conveyor 25 and which carry pocket forming mandrel supportingassemblies 50 (Figures 1,14, 15, 23, 24 and 25). The brackets 49 of each 'painthereof are connected to the chains 26 and 27 by link connecting verticallpivot pins 51 The chains 26 and- 27 are supported and guidedin vertically spaced channel-like guide formations 52 and 5 3. The

. bottom guide formation52 is supported on the .cross frameinembers 33, 34, 38, 39 and the upper guideway formation 53 is supported on cross bars 54 and 551(F ig ure 2)'.atopposite-ends of the 'machine which are mounted on the subframes supporting the conveyor sprockets. The pivot pins 51 on which the brackets 49 are supported are extended at opposite ends beyond'the chain links and provided with guide or bearing rollers 56 which engage in the channels 52 and 53 and hold the mandrel assemblies 50 in upright position.

Each of the pocket forming mandrel supporting assemblies 50 (Figures 14, 23 and 24) comprises a vertically extending back or base plate 57 which is attached to the bracket members 49 and extends in a vertical plane outside of the guide channels 52 and 53 projecting slightly above the uppermost guide channel 53. The back plate 57 carries an outwardly extending frame formation which comprises spaced vertical side plates 58, 58' of generally L-shaped configuration with the bottom legs 59, 59' extending outwardly of the vertical portions 60, 60' and back plate 57 and forming side supports for a bottom forming plate 61 which is apertured at 62 and which is swingably mounted on the pivots 63, 63' between the outer ends of the legs 59, 59 so that it may swing downwardly and outwardly away from the back plate 57 as indicated in Figure 24. Bottom brace blocks 64, 64 are secured outside the bottom legs 59, 59' and identical spring clamp devices 65, 65' are attached to each of the vertical portions 60, 60 of the side plates 58, 58'. The clamp device 65 comprises a relatively thin spring plate 66 which is secured along one vertical edge to the vertical portion 60 of the side plate 58 adjacent the back edge by bolts 67 and extends beyond the outer edge thereof where it is attached to the inner edge of an outwardly flared plate member 68 and to a vertical plate member 69 having an inturned top flange 70. The clamp device 65 has corresponding members which are indicated by the same numbers primed. The spring plates 66, 66' enable the outwardly flared plates 68, 68' at the open side of the assembly 50 to be spread apart to receive a removable bag receiving and supporting mandrel 71, one of which is shown in Figure 25.

The mandrels 71 may be conveniently formed by shaping two plate sections as shown and joining them to form an open ended tubular member of rectangular cross section having outwardly flared flanges 72 at the top end and outwardly directed vertical fins 73, 73' extend from the oppositely disposed side walls 74, 74 and are adapted to be received in the pockets 75, 75' formed between the inner edges of the outwardly flared entrance plates 68, 68' of the clamp devices 65, 65' and the outer edges of the vertical portions 60, 60 of the side plates 58, 58' of the assembly 50 with the open bottom end of the mandrel 71 being seated on the bottom plate 61 and over the perforations 62 therein. The mandrels 71 may be interchanged with any of the assemblies 50 and different size mandrels 71 may be provided for varying the size of the bag which the machine will accommodate. The mandrels 71 may be varied in length and width with the overall dimension in the plane of the fins 73 remaining constant so that the mandrels may be properly seated and held in the supporting assemblies 50.

Additional support is provided for maintaining the assemblies 50 in proper upright position which comprises a supporting rail 76 (Figures 2, 4 and 14) extending along the conveyor 25 beneath the path of movement of the assemblies 50 at all points except at the empty bag receiving station A and the finished package discharge station E. The rail 76 is mounted on a series of upright post members 77 which are spaced along the same and extend upwardly from top plate members 78 which are supported on the cross frame bars 33, 34, 38 and 39 adjacent the side and end members 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the top frame.

The empty bags shown at 23 (Figure 5) are supplied to the pocket forming mandrels 71 in pairs from a suitable source, preferably an intermittently operating duplex bag making machine associated with the present apparatus such as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 657,853. The bags 23 are delivered to the conveyor 25 at the station indicated at A in Figure 2 through a transfer chute mechanism 80 (Figures 3 and 5). The bags are delivered to a vertical hopper 81 which is mounted on an upright frame 82 of inverted U-shaped configuration having the lower ends of the legs 83 spaced along and secured to the outer face of the rear frame member 18 at the bag delivery station A. The hopper 81 comprises a vertical front plate 84 and a back plate 85 with the back plate 85 having a rearwardly flared upper flange section 86. The hopper 81 which is of generally rectangular cross section and open at the top and bottom is supported in forwardly extending relation on the upright frame 82 so that the bottom end is positioned above and in vertical alignment with the open tops of the pocketed mandrels 71 which are carried on the conveyor 25. The hopper 81 is divided into two separate, spaced bag receiving sections or passageways by vertically extending channel-like members 87, 87' positioned between the front and back walls 84 and 85 and spaced a distance apart corresponding to the spacing of the mandrels 71 on the conveyor 25. The hopper 81 is moved in a closed circular path to deliver the bags two at a time to the pockets in the continuously advancing conveyor 25 beneath the same. The rear plate 85 of the hopper 81 is provided with a pair of pivot pin members 88, '88 which are spaced in the longitudinal direction of the machine and pivotally mounted in the ends of a pair of crank arms 89, 89' which are in turn secured on the inner ends of a pair of shaft members 90, 91, the latter being supported in bearing members 9 1, 91' secured in the upper cross or top plate 92 of the supporting frame 32. The operating shafts 90, each carry a gear 93, 93' at the outer end. The gears 93, 93 are connected by an idler gear 94 mounted on a stub shaft 95 so that the two gears 93, 93 rotate in the same direction to drive the crank arms 89, 89' simultaneously in the same direction. One shaft 90 has its outer end extended and receives a sprocket 96 which is connected by a drive chain 97 with a sprocket 98 on the cross shaft 100 which extends between the side frame members 17 and 18 and which constitutes one of the combination cam and drive shafts for the mechanism.

A suction device 101 (Figures 2, 3 and 5) is associated with the conveyor at station A which comprises a sue-- tion box 102 having a portion 103 at the top which extends through the plate 78 on the top frame of the supporting structure and has a top plate 104 aligned beneath the path of the mandrels 71 with an opening 105 so that suction is applied through the apertures 62 in the bottom 61 of the mandrels 71 as the latter slide over the suction plate 104 to insure proper seating of the bags 23 therein. The suction box 102 is connected to apump 106 which is driven by the motor 107 and the entire mechanism is mounted on a cross frame structure efiending between the side frame members of the mac ne.

After the bags 23 are received in the pocket forming mandrels 71, they are advanced by movement of the conveyor 25 around the filling end of the machine where a predetermined quantity of a commodity is deposited in each of the bags by a rotary head filling mechanism 110 which carries a series of filling nozzles 111 and which is supported on and rotates with the upstanding shaft 35. The filling mechanism 110 is of the type which delivers successive measured charges through the nozzles 111 as the mechanism rotates about its supporting shaft, the nozzles 111 being aligned with the mandrels 71 on the conveyor 25. A suitable filling mechanism is disclosed in copending application Serial No. 663,471, now Patent No. 2,888,046. The filling mechanism 110 is provided with a suitable no-fill no-bag control mechanism so that no charge is delivered to a mandrel when there is no bag in the latter.

' 'As the filled bags are advanced beyond the filling station-B they aremoved to a tucking head mechanism' 120" (Figures 1 and 6to, 9) which is mounted'on the supporting structure 10 'at station C and which operates to place tucks or bellows folds in the top marginal portions of the end walls of each filled bag as it moves beneath the tucking head at the station C. The tucking head places the tucks in the end walls of the filled bags and simultaneously brings the top marginal portions of the side Walls into flattened juxtaposed relation for subsequentsealing.

The tucking head 120 is mounted on a vertical supporting bracket plate 121 which forms the front member of a head supporting upright frame or stand structure projecting in fixed position'above the horizontal support plate 37.. The head 120 is given a four motion movement in an endless path as thetucking and folding operations are accomplished to close the top of the bag while the bag is advanced beneath the same. The head 120 comprises a bracket or block member 122 having upper hearing forming ears 123, 123' (Figure 8) receiving pivot pins 124, 124' on which the arms 125, 125 carrying the outside tucking fingers 126 and 126' are mounted. The

pivot pins 124, 124 carry interengaging segments'127,

127 which insure simultaneous movement of the arms 125, 125. A tension spring 128 is connected at its opposite ends to the respective arms 1'25, 125 adjacent the pivots 124, 124 to normally urge the arms 125, 125' in a direction about their pivotal mountings which positions the fingers 126, 126 outwardly away from each other with the outward movement of the arms'being limited by means of an L-shaped operating bar 129 which has its shorter, vertically extending leg secured on the extended end of the pivot pin 124. The longer horizontal legof the bar 129 extends across and above the extended end of the pivot pin 124 and normally engages the latter. The bar 129 carries an adjustingscrew or'bolt 130 at its free end which is positioned to engage with the upper end of a vertical bar 131 supported on the end of a forwardly extending bracket member 132 which is fixed to a horizontal slide plate 133 on which the finger supporting bracket 122 is slidingly mounted. The tucking fingers 126, 126 are adapted to be moved toward each other when the supporting bracket 122'moves downward a sufficient distance to engage the bolt 130with'the abutment forming bar 131. p 7 V A Two pairs of inside fold or corner forming fingers or blade members are mounted for swinging movement in two directions on the supporting bracket 122, the fingers of the front pair being indicated at 134, 135 and the fingers of the back'pair at '134', 135'. The front fingers 134, 135 are mounted on arm members 136, 136? which are secured intermediate their ends on pivot pins 137, 137 journaled in the lower bearing "forming ears 138', 138' of a front bracket member 139. The bracket member 139 is secured on a cross pm 140 extending between and journaled in a pair of spaced T-shaped side plates 141, 141, the latter depending from opposite sides of the bracket support member 122 and having horizontally. extending leg portions projecting behind the bracket member 122 which are connected by a forwardly extending bracket member 142 to the upper end of a'vertical slide plate 143. The slide plate 143 is mounted for vertical sliding movement in guideways formed by oppo sitely disposed spaced channel members 144 secured on the horizontally movable slide plate 132. The rear folding fingers 134, 135 are mounted in the same manner as the front fingers 134, 135 on a rear bracket member 150 journaled in the bearing plates 141, .141. The two pivot pins 140 and 150 are provided with interengaging toothed segments 151,151 which insure that equalswinging movement about the pivot pins 140 and 150 occurs uponmoyement of either one of the finger supporting p 153 extending from the supporting plate 141 "which urgesthe two arms 139, 149 in a direction away from each other about their pivotsj and 150, which spreads the front and'rear inside folding fingers apart. An L-shaped bracket 154 is secured to the face of the supporting bracket 122 which carries on the end of. its depending arm an adjusting bolt 155 which limits the. movement of the'two bracket arms 139 and 149 in the direction away from each other. IWith this arrangement the front and "rear sets 'or pairs of inner folding fingers 134,135 and'134, 135 have limited movement in a lateral direction toward and from each other; The lateral movement of the two support brackets 139 and 149' and the inner folding fingers 134,135 and 1347, 135' iscontrolled by acarn plate 156 (Figures'6 and 8) which is mounted on the upright 'bar member 131 and a cooperating cam roller 157 which is suPPQItedon a' bracket 158 extending from the rearward support bracket 149. "Thecam roller 157 rides on the frontredge' of the cam plate 156 as the supporting bracket122 is raised and lowered by movement of the slide 143 and allows the spring 152 to spread the fingers 134, 135 and134', 135 when the mechanism is lowered to'move the fingers into the open top .of a bag on the conveyor 25. V Y

The front tucking fingers 134 and 135' are urged towards each other in a vertical plane by a tension spring 160 (Figure 7) which has its ends connected to the two finger supporting arms 13 6,'136' below the pivot. pins 137, 137'. The fingers 134 and 135 are moved apart by cam rollers 161 and 161' which are carried on the upper ends of the supporting arms 136,136 engaging with cam plates or blocks 162, 162' secured on the arms 125, 125 which carry the outside tucking fingers 126, 126' so that the fingers 134 and 135 spread apart or move outwardly against the bag walls as the fingers 126 and 126 move inwardly toward each other. The rear pair of tucking fingers 134, 135' are provided with like operating members so that they move in unison with the front pair of fingers 134, 135upon movement of the fingers 126, 126'.

The horizontal slide plate 133 is providedon its rear face with upper and lower oppositely facing channel shaped members 163 and 163' which provide a guideway for receiving the horizontal edges of a vertically disposed track forming-plate 164 which is secured to a vertically adjustable bracket member 165. The bracket member 165 extends between the side plates 166, 166' of a carriage 167 which is adjustably mounted in sliding relation on the upright plate member 121 of the supporting frame 168 which is securedon the horizontal'support plate 37 at the filling end of .the machine. The carriage 167 is held in adjusted position on the upright fixed frame member 121 by an adjusting screw 170 which is journaled in a'rearwardly extending bracket arm 171 on the top of the frame member 121 and has its lower end inscrew threaded engagement with a suitable threaded aperture in a top member of the carriage'167. The adjusting screw 170-carries a handle 172 at its upper end for a 149. 'The bracket member 149 is mounted on the pin arms 139,149. A spring .152 is connected at oneend to the rear ;bracket;149, and at the other endto the pin manual operation and also a sprocket 173 which is connected by a chain 174 with similar adjusting mechanism for the sealing'mechanism which will be subsequently described. a

f The tucking head is reciprocated ina vertical direction by movement of the slide plate 143. The slide plate 143 carries a cam roller '175 (Figures 6 and 7) on a pin 176 which extends from the rear face of the plate 143 and rides on the top of a lifting bar 177. The lifting bar 177 is carried on a pair of parallel support arms 178 and 178. which are mounted on the shafts 180 and 180' with the latter journaled in the bottom portion of the carriage 167 and having an operating a'rm18-1- on its rear or inner end. The arm. 181' is pivoted at its upper end at 182 to an operating link 183 which is connected at its other end at, 184 to the upper end of the upstanding arm 185 of a bell crank lever which is pivotally mounted on thecross shaft 100 and 'whichcarries on the end of its lower arm 187 a cam roller 188 which engages with the operating cam 190 on the cross shaft 48. The arm 181 on the shaft 180 is connected by a link 192 with a parallel arm 193 on the pivot shaft 180 and operates the shaft 180 simultaneously with the shaft 180 so that the bar 177 is held horizontal while it is moved in a circular path which raises and lowers the head while permitting its horizontal movement.

Horizontal movement of the plate 133 is accomplished by means of an operating link 194 which is connected at one end by a pivot pin 195 to the bottom edge of the plate 133 and at :the other end by pivot 196 to the upper end of a vertically extending crank member 197. The crank member 197 is pivoted on the cross shaft 198 (Figure l) and carries on its lower horizontal arm 200 a cam roller 201 which engages in a cam track on cam plate 202 on the cross shaft 100. The horizontally reciprocating plate 133 is connected to the movable frame of the adjoining sealing mechanism by a link 203 which is pivoted at one end to the plate 133 at 204.

As the conveyor 25 moves a filled bag 23 beneath the tucking head the finger supporting bracket 122 is lowered until the inside folding fingers 134, 135 and 134', 135' enter the top of the bag, the head being moved horizontally to the right in Figure 1. The outside tucking fingers 126 and 126' move down on the outside of the end walls of the bag top, the fingers being in the position shown in Figure 7 as they begin the downward movement. As the head is lowered the two pairs of inside folding fingers 134, 135 and 134, 135' are given a lateral movement by movement of the cam roller 157 over the edge of the cam plate 156 and the action of the spring 152. At the same time the outside tucking fingers 126, 126' are moved inwardly towards each other to engage the end walls of the bag and the cam plates 162, 162 engage the cam rollers 161, 161' to move the inside folding fingers 134, 134 away from the fingers 135, 135, respectively, so that the inside fingers move out towards the four corners of the bag top while the tucking fingers 126 and 126 move in between the inside fingers at each end of the bag. As these movements are accomplished the entire head is moved forward, by reciprocation of the plate 133, with the moving bag. As the bag and the head advance the tucked bag top advances between a pair of top pressing plates 210 and 210' (Figures 10 to 13) which are normally held in a laterally swung or open position and which are closed on the bag top as the head member 122 is moved upwardly and the folding and tucking fingers withdrawn from engagement with the bag top.

The top pressing plates 210 and 210 extend vertically from a pair of horizontally disposed supporting arm members 211, 211. The supporting arms 211, 211' are mounted on vertically extending parallel pivot shafts 212, 212 which are journaled in a horizontally extending bracket 213 projecting forwardly of and attached to the fixed supporting frame for the sealing mechanism by a bracket plate 214. The pivot shafts 212, 212 carry at their upper ends above the bracket support 213 a pair of cooperating toothed segments 215, 215' which insure that the two vertically extending fold pressing plates 210 and 210' will be moved in unison about the pivot shafts 212, 212'. A pair of relatively short arm members 216, 216' are secured on the upper ends of the pivot shafts 212, 212' with their free ends connected by a tension spring 217 which urges the two plate supporting arms 211, 211' into open position as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 10. One of the segments 215 carries a tangential bar 218 which is adapted to engage with the other segment 215 to limit the opening movement of the arms 211, 211 so as to provide sufficient space between the vertical plates 210 and 210' for passage of the collapsed bag top. The vertical plates 210, 210' are operated to close on the folded bag top by engagement of the cam roller 219, which is carried on a bracket 220 extending forwardly of the movable slide plate 133 on the tucking head, with a cam plate 221 which is carried on the arm 222 secured on the rearmost vertical shaft 212' so that the plates 210, 210 are closed at the end of the forward movement of the tucking head.

The supporting arms 211, 211 are cut out at 223, 223' to accommodate a pair. of fixed guideway forming plate members, 224, 224 which are channel-shaped in cross section (Figure 12) and which are supported on a bracket 225 depending from the bracket 2 13 and arranged with their opposed top and bottom flanges spaced to form a longitudinal and vertical guideway for receiving the bag top as it advances beyond the pressing plates 210, 210'. A pair of similar channel-shaped plate members 226, 226' are supported on a bracket 227 which depends from a movable frame portion of the adjoining sealing mechanism 230. The plate members 226, 226 telescope within the plate members 224, 224' and form a movable guideway section extending between the fixed guideway and the first sealing device on the sealing mechanism 230.

The mechanism 230 for sealing the bag top comprises an upright fixed frame 231 (Figures 14 to 22) having upright end plates 232 and 233 spaced longitudinally of the supporting frame structure 10 and secured at their lower ends to the horizontal supporting plate members 31 and 37, respectively. The fixed frame end plates 232 and 233 form supporting vertical rails or guide members for a vertically adjustable rectangular frame 236. The adjustable frame 236 comprises vertically extending end plates 237 and 238 at opposite ends thereof, each of which has attached to its inner face a pair of laterally spaced vertical angle members 240, 240 and 241, 241' arranged to provide guideways for receiving the vertical plates 232 and 233 of the fixed frame 231. Laterally spaced longitudinally and vertically extending front and rear plates 242 and 243 which form the body of the movable frame are connected between the guideway forming members 240, 241 and 240, 241'. The vertical plates 242 and 243 are connected at opposite ends of the frame by cross block members 244 and 245, each of which has a central threaded bore 246 and 247 for receiving the threaded ends of depending adjusting screws 248 and 249. The screws 248 and 249 are journaled at their upper ends in a longitudinally extending horizontal plate 250 forming part of the fixed frame 231. The screws 248 and 249 carry bevel gears 251 and 252 at their upper ends which are in tooth engagement with bevel gears 253 and 254 on a longitudinally extending shaft 255 which is journaled in the space bearings 256 and 257 mounted on the support plate 250. The one adjusting screw 249 also carries at its upper end a sprocket 258 for receiving the chain 174 connecting the mechanism with the adjusting mechanism for the tucking head for simultaneous vertical adjustment of the same. Rotation of the screws 248 and 249, of course, moves the adjustable frame 236 vertically on the fixed frame 231 to position the sealing devices on the mechanism at the proper height above the line of travel of the mandrels on the conveyor 25, to engage with the flattened bag tops.

The end plates 237 and 238 of the adjustable frame 236 are extended forwardly of the fixed frame 231 and are connected by upper and lower track forming rail members 261 and 262. The rail members 261 and 262 have longitudinally extending recesses along their opposed horizontal surfaces which form guideways for receiving upper and lower rollers 263 and 264 which are rotatably mounted on supporting pins 265 and 266 extending rearwardly of a vertical plate 267 which forms the rear part of a horizontally movable frame on which are mounted the forwardly extending longitudinally spaced sealing devices 268, 269, 270 and 271.

The sealing devices 268, 269, 270 and 271 which operate on the successive bag tops as the latter are advanced by the conveyor 25 beneath the devices are constructed in an identical manner except as hereinafter V the adjustable supporting frame 236.

' sealing mechanism is V thatthe two mechanisms reciprocate "bracket'316 to the frame plate described andall 'ofthem are supported in alike manner a pair of spaced depending outer arms 279, 279' which support between their lower ends the outer sealing iron 273 and which are connected by a top bar 280. The top bar 280=has an adjusting screw 281 with its threaded end engaged'in a threaded aperture 282 in a lower cross bar 283 which is connected between the forwardly extending portions of'the-side members 284, 284' of an operating frame 285, the latter being pivotally mounted on the pivot rod 277. The operating frame 285 extends through an aperture 286 inthe vertical plate 267 and has an inner end cross bar 287 on which a cam roller 288 is mounted on the pivot pin 289; The cam roller 288 is positioned for engagement with the top edge of a vertically movable operating cam plate 290.

The cam plate 290 is mounted on a pair of longitudinally spaced pins 291, 291' which are pivotally connected to the ends-of a pair of parallel crank arms 292,292.

r The crank arms 292, 292' are mounted on transversely extending longitudinally spaced shafts 293, 293 which are journaled in the vertical frame plates 242 and 243 of 243 and 293 extend at the rear of the fixed frame plate have crank arms 294, 294 i bar, 295 pivoted at 296,296 to the same. One of tne crank arms 294 has an extension 297 which is pivotally connectedat 298 to an operating link 300. The link 300 is pivotally connected at 30 1 to the upper endof a crank arm 302 which is pivotally mounted at 303 on the bearing blocks 304 on theframe support plate 37 and which has a depending arm 305 with a cam end which engages with an operating cam plate 307 on the transverse shaft 308. A tension spring 309 is connected by pin 310 to the outer end of one of the crank arms 294 and at its other end to the vertical frame plate bracket 273 for the outer j The shafts 293,

which are connected bya link 7 roller 306 on the lower.

' plate 334 secured thereon.

243 to hold the cam roller 306 against the cam plate 307 A tension spring 311 is connected at one end to .the vertical'plate 26.7 and at the other end to the top cross bar 280 of'the bracket 278 and urges the pivotally mounted.

bracket 289 in a direction to separate the sealing irons 272 and 273. The horizontally movable frame of the pivotally connected to the end of link 203 which is pivoted to the tucking head'at 204, the link 203 being pivotally connected to the vertical frame plate 267 of the sealing mechanism at 312 (Figure 1) so longitudinally in unison. V

The first and second sealing devices263 and 269 which are carried onthe movable frame of the sealing mechaperform successive cross sealing nism are identical and V A pair of laterally spaced operations on the bag top.

guide plates 313 and 314 extend'between the two devices 313 being attached by bracket 315 to with the outer plate the. sealing device 268 and the plate 314- attached' by 267. 7 As the bag top moves beyond the second seah'ng device 269 the top margin of the flattened and sealed top is folded over upon itself by a fold forming device 321 which is arranged be tween the two sealing devices I spaced guidewayforming plates321 and 322 are arranged between the sealing device 1269 and the folding device 320 which are supported on an L-shaped bracket 323 (Figures 17 and 22) extendingfrom the vertical plate 269 'and 270. Two laterally' 267. The

323 while'the outer guide plate 322 iscarried on an.out-

wardly extending c-shaped bracket 324 attached to the upper edge of the guide plate 321. I. a

The fold forming device 320 (-Figures 17 and 18) comprisesan L-shaped-supporting bracket 326 whichhas a depending leg attached to the support plate267 and a horizontally extending leg 327 extending through a slot 328' in the plate 267- and providing a pair of bearing ears 327' for receiving a pivot pin 329 on which an arm 331 is mounted, the latter supporting at its forward end, on the pivot 332, a depending bracket arm 333 having a fold The arm 331 has a rearward extension 335' which carries a cam roller 336 adapted to ride on the top of the vertically movable operating'plate 290. A tension spring 337 is connected at one end to an anchor plate 338 at the top edge of the vertical frame plate 267 and'at its other end to a pin 340 on the bracket arm 333 for'the fold plate 334 to urge the latter'in a counter-clockwise direction about the supporting pivot 332. The bracket arm 333 for the fold p1ate=334 carries a cam roller 341 which is adapted to engage with the 7 forward edge'of a vertical cam plate 342 which is mounted on the supporting bracket 326 and which has arecess 343 f orming a cam track for permitting inward swinging movement ofthe fold plate 334 to fold the top marginal portion of the bag about the outer guide plate 322 which extends between, the fold forming device 320 and the preceding sealing device 269. The folded top is then in position to pass back of an outer guide plate 344 which is adjustably supported on the bottom of a depending support pin345. The pin 345 is attached at its upper end to a bracket plate 346 extending from the upper rail member 261 of the support frame 236. 7

As the bag is advanced by the conveyor 25 from the fold forming device 320 to the next adjacent sealing device270 the folded over portion of the bag. top passes between the inner guide plate 321 and an outer guard plate 347 which is supported on the pivoted support bracket of the sealing device 270 by the bracket plate 348.

The sealing device 270, which is identical with the first sealing device 268, cross seals the folded over top of the bag and the bag then advances to the sealing device 271 which presses the seal as the bag is advanced beneath the same. The sealing device 271. is identical with the first sealing device 268 except that it is provided with presser bars in place of the sealing irons which are unheated and'which have opposed serrated faces for engaging the bag top so asto compress the seal which has been formed'in the preceding heat sealing device 270. Guide plates 350 and 351 form a passageway between the sealing devices 270 and 271 for the bag top, the guide plate 350 being supported on a bracket 352 on the sealing device 270 and the guide plate 351 being attached by bracket 353 to the vertical support plate 267.

After the bag passes the last sealing device 271 the sealing ope ation is completed. Sincethe sealing devices are all mounted on the support plate 267' and the latter is reciprocated longitudinally of the machine as the bags pass beneath the same; thesealing occurs while the bags are being advanced continuously by the conveyor 25, the plate being reciprocated with a return movement through a closed path by operation of the link 302 while the sealing and folding devices, carried on the plate 267 are operated by vertical movement of the cam plate 29% intimed relation to the horizontal movement of the plate 267. V V

7 The completely closed and sealed bag or package moves around the end of the machine on the conveyor 25 successive bag to be dropped through the open bottom of the mandrel and its supporting assembly and to be discharged onto the upper run of a belt delivery conveyor 363 which extends transversely of the machine. The conveyor 363 is supported at its opposite ends on the rollers 364 and 365, the latter being mounted on spaced shafts 366 and 367 beneath the top frame 11 of the machine. A guide plate 368 directs the filled bag onto the conveyor and spaced side guide plates 370, 370' are provided for insuring that the completed packages will be delivered at the front side of the conveyor. The forward supporting shaft 366 of the conveyor 363 is extended at one end and carries a sprocket 371 connected by a drive chain 372 with a sprocket 373 on a longitudinally extending drive shaft 374 which is mounted in spaced bearings 375, 375' at the rear of the machine.

An air jet 376 is provided at station E for insuring that an empty bag which has not been filled by the filling mechanism will be properly removed from the mandrel 71 in which it is carried. The air jet 376 is mounted on a bracket 377 extending upwardly of the side frame member 12 and is supplied with air from a suitable source. A cam plate 378 extends from the leading side of the discharge aperture 361 which swings the pivoted bottom 61 of each mandrel support 50 back into horizontal position before the mandrel reaches the bag receiving station A.

The machine is powered by a motor 380 (Figure 1) having a drive pulley 381 which is connected by belt 382 with a pulley 383 on the stub shaft 384. The shaft 384 carries a sprocket 385 which is connected by the drive chain 386 with a sprocket 387 on the main drive shaft 388, the latter extending transversely across the machine and having a hand wheel 389 on one end. The drive shaft 388 has a pinion 390 inside the main frame member 17 and which is connected in driving relation with a gear 391 on the cross shaft 392. At its opposite end inside the frame member 18 the shaft 392 carries pinions 393 and 394 which engage in driving relation with gears 395 and 396 on the cross shafts 308 and 198, respectively. The cross shaft 198 extends beyond the rear face of support member 18 and carries a bevel gear 397 which engages in driving relation with a bevel gear 398 on the horizontal drive shaft 374. At its other end the cross shaft 198 carries inside the frame member 17 a pinion 400 which engages in driving relation with a gear 401 on the cross shaft 100. The cross shaft 100 has a pinion 402 adjacent the gear 401 which engages in driving relation with gear 403 on the cross shaft '48 which drives the vertical drive shaft 35. A drive for a pump (not shown) for the filling head 110 may be taken from shaft 404 (Figure 1) which is driven by belt connection 405 from the shaft 384 and provided with a suitable clutch 406.

A bag vibrator may be provided on the machine at the filling station B. This may consist of a supplemental rail member 407 (Figures 2 and 4) which is supported for vertical movement on the posts 408, the latter being connected to a suitable mechanism (not shown) for imparting vertical reciprocation thereto while the product is being deposited in the bags 23 by operation of the filling head 110.

The operation of the machine will be understood from the preceding description. The bags are delivered to the pockets formed by the mandrels 71 on the conveyor 25 and carried past the filling station B where each bag is filled with a predetermined quanity of the product being packaged. As the filled bags move beneath the tucking head 120 at station C the tucking head descends and the top margins of the bag walls are closed by operation of the tucking and folding fingers 126, 126 and 134, 135, 134, 135' as illustrated in Figures 26 to 28. As the outside folding plates 210 and 210 close on the folded bag top (Figure 28) the tucking head is raised and the folding and tucking fingers are Withdrawn from engagement with the bag. The bag is advanced by continued movement of the conveyor 25 to the sealing mechanism 230 at station D where successive sealing operations are performed on the closed bag top. The first two sealing de vices 268 and 269 on the horizontally and vertically reciprocating frame 267 apply successive cross seals to the flattened bag top 410 which is in the condition shown in Figure 29 as it is operated upon by these devices. The flattened and sealed bag top is then moved through the top fold forming device 320 which folds over the top as shown at 411 in Figure 30. Thereafter, the folded top portion 411 is cross sealed by the sealing device 270 and finally pressed by the pressing device 271 to complete the operations on the bag top which is shown in the completed condition in Figure 31. The completed bag or package is discharged from the supporting conveyor 25 at station E and delivered from the machine by the discharge con veyor 363.

While particular materials and specific details of construction are referred to in describing the illustrated machine, it will be understood that other materials and variations in the details of construction are contemplated within the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A bag closing machine having a continuously traveling horizontal conveyor for supporting filled bags in upright position, a bag top tucking station, a fixed stand adjacent said station and a bag top tucking device mounted for vertical adjustment on said stand, said tucking device comprising a pair of outer tucking fingers swingably mounted on a supporting bracket, two pairs of inner folding fingers for cooperation with the outer tucking fingers, the fingers of each pair of said inner folding fingers being pivotally mounted on supporting members, said supporting members being pivotally mounted on the supporting bracket for lateral movement, said supporting bracket being attached to a vertical slide plate, said slide plate being slidably mounted for vertical movement on a horizontal track plate, said horizontal track plate being mounted for horizontal sliding movement on said stand, means to move said slide plate and said track plate in timed relation to the movement of the conveyor to position said tucking and folding fingers vertically for engagement with the top marginal portions of each successive bag and to advance the same horizontally with each bag during a predetermined portion of its movement, and means to pivot the tucking and folding fingers relative to each other to infold end Wall portions of the bag top and to bring the opposed side wall portions thereof into flat folded relation.

2. In a bag closing machine having a continuously moving conveyor for supporting thereon in upright spaced relation a series of filled bags, a bag top tucking station, a fixed stand at said station and a bag top tucking device mounted for vertical adjustment on said stand, said tucking device comprising a pair of outer tucking swingably mounted on a supporting bracket for movement toward and from each other in a vertical plane, two pairs of inner fold forming fingers for cooperation with the outer tucking fingers, said pairs of inner fingers being pivotally mounted on two supporting members, said supporting members being pivotally mounted on the supporting bracket, the axes of the pivots for the supporting members being at right angles to the axes of the pivots for said fold forming fingers, said supporting bracket being attached to a vertical slide plate, said vertical slide plate being slidably mounted on a horizontal track plate, said track plate being mounted for horizontal sliding movement on said stand, means to move said slide plate vertically and said track plate horizontally in timed relation to the movement of the conveyor to insert said fold forming fingers into the top of each successive bag and to advance the same with each bag during a predetermined portion of its movement, means to pivot the tucking fingers toward each othcr'to infold end wall portions of the bag top and interengaging means on said tucking fingers and 

